Thursday, March 4, 2010

Nota Bene - Yes, There IS A Place In Toronto Worth Eating At! (Toronto, ONT)

Nota Bene

After a few subpar meals in Toronto, I was beginning to second guess my reservation at Nota Bene, the lone restaurant I booked ahead of time prior to my trip. After reading about Nota Bene on Chowhound, I decided to book a dinner there for our last night in Toronto, and I'm glad I went with my gut.

Bread Service

Upon seating, we were handed our menus and also served with two types of bread along with a bowl of olive oil.

As we started to look over the menu, we ordered up a round of cocktails. My friends went with the Streetcar and the Ice Wine Martini. The Streetcar was definitely the strongest of the three drinks, but I enjoyed the orange infused rum liqueur basis in the drink. Despite the stiffness of the drink, it was quite enjoyable. The Ice Wine Martini probably needed a bit more ice wine flavor, as the vanilla vodka dominated the drink. Finally, the Toronto Mule. Look, I enjoy all types of "mule" drinks. Russian Mule, Gin Gin Mule, and in this case, the Toronto Mule. For me, what can go wrong with a mix of vodka, ginger, and lime? What a fantastic combination!

"NB" Farm to Fork Charcuterie

We started off our dinner with an order of Charcuterie platter, and it's one of the better ones I've had. Since I'm not too keen on cheese *gasp*, yes, you can all gasp away, I thoroughly enjoyed this meat platter, though I stayed away from the bowl of olives. Very nice way to begin out dinner.

Pomme Frites

Of course, I gotta order the Pomme Frites when I saw it on the menu. Crispy, "Potatoe-y," with a sprinkle of cheese on top, what's not to like here?

My buddy Benny decided to start off with a lobster salad with maple bacon, avocado, and a blue cheese dressing. I didn't try it, but my friend seemed to enjoy his starter quite well. Though what could go wrong with lobster and bacon?

Lobster Bisque

Since I love soup, I, along with my buddy Morgan went with the lobster bisque. Unlike the usual lobster bisque, the one served at Nota Bene had an Asian influence (say Lemongrass?), yet the flavors of the lobster was quite evident. Fantastic! What a start before our main course!

As we wait for our main course, we went with a second round of cocktails. My friends went with the Queen Street Pick Me Up, which was a coffee based cocktail drink. Very nice, especially those that enjoy the taste of coffee. However, I preferred the Nota Bene, as I typically enjoy more of a citrus based cocktail drinks. Finally, in honor of Canada, I decided on Air Canada, which was a martini drink with a gin and cherry liquor base. It's definitely a stiffer drink compared to the Toronto Mule I had earlier, but equally enjoyable.

Cornish Game Hen with Smashed Potatoes

Since I didn't have this entree, I wasn't sure how it tasted, though my buddy seemed to enjoy it quite well. Meat (cornish game hen) and potatoes, it's hard to wrong with that combination!

OK, I'll make this description simple. BEST thing I ate during my trip to Canada, and this includes Montreal. I mean, how the hell can this dish NOT be good? Crispy pork skin, tender pulled pork, boudin noir (blood sausage), bacon, and mushroom. First of all, I love crispy pork skin, and boudin noir despite its "bloody" nature, I just love! Layered on top of a crispy tart, my friend and I just gobbled up our entree. For whatever it's worth, I'd almost return to Toronto just to eat this dish at Nota Bene!

Sticky Toffee Pudding - Pecan Praline, Spotted Dick Ice Cream

Lemon Tart

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cake - Chocolate Sauce, Chocolate Ice Cream

Ah, onto my favorite part of any meal, dessert. Even though I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, somehow our dessert selection was pretty heavily entrenched with chocolate. I will have to say my favorite of the trio was the Sticky Toffee Pudding, as I enjoyed the flavor contrast and temperature contrast a bit more. The other 2 desserts were good, but nothing really worth mentioning, though the chocolate fudge cake was not as heavy as it looked. A good, but not a great way to close out our meal.

Dining Room

Looking back, did my meal at Nota Bene save my trip, at least my culinary trip in Toronto? Probably not, as I didn't care for much of what I had eaten prior to Nota Bene. Though I'm glad I ended things here at Nota Bene, as we're moving onto Niagara Falls and Montreal. Frankly, Nota Bene does not compare with the best restaurants in New York City, Montreal, or even Los Angeles, however it's damn good nevertheless. If you're in Toronto for whatever reasons (maybe a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame?), give Nota Bene a try. This bustling downtown Toronto restaurant is definitely worth checking out!

20 comments:

I can tell from the signs for the restaurant that this place is legit! It has that sort of fancy schmancy lettering and color palate. Glad you got in at least one good meal up north! (Amidst all the hockey museums)

Didn't know you weren't a fan of olives either! Sounds like Cathy and Anna are going to be eating a lot of those suckers tonight!

You don't like olive, CHEESE (??) and now chocolate (??) and tell me to drink a banana shake?! psh please! Maybe we don't agree on some things (pass on the blood sausage) but I like your drink selection. Esp the the Canadian Mule =))

Drew K: I'll be honestly, I didn't really research Toronto food other than Nota Bene and probably Rodney's. I went to Toronto for the NHL Hall of Fame more than anything else, and to check out St. Lawrence Mkt. What would you recommend?

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